


Where there are shadows, there is also a light source.

by AmateurWeirdo



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: And it’s all my fault, Angst, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Betrayal, Character Study, Depression, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Inferiority Complex, Leo and Takumi fight back-to-back in one scene and I wish I elaborated on that more, Leo has Depression, My calculator said six thousand words, Non-binary My Unit | Kamui | Corrin, Oh My God, Panic Attacks, Self-Esteem Issues, Sibling Bonding, These Tags Are So Angsty, This is the longest thing I’ve ever written, Who Doesn’t Love Sibling Bonding Time?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-31
Updated: 2019-05-31
Packaged: 2020-03-30 20:27:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19035034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmateurWeirdo/pseuds/AmateurWeirdo
Summary: Fire Emblem: Fates, Character study 1 - LeoThe type of pressure that comes with walking in someone else’s shadow has profound effects on a person. Paired with the wrong environment or the wrong events, even a small amount of pressure on a single area can spread very easily, like how a sharp nail can be used to shatter a castle of glass if used right. It can influence decisions, and make things turn out very differently than they originally would.(This is me and my headcanon that Leo has not only an inferiority complex, but depression. This represents what happens in Revelations as viewed by him. I wanted a happy ending, otherwise I’d have used Birthright. I’m an absolute sucker for character studies, in case you couldn’t tell.)





	Where there are shadows, there is also a light source.

**Author's Note:**

> Welp here we go

 

* * *

__Sometimes, getting out of bed was easy for him. Those were the days when he had motivation. He had to keep Elise safe, he had to keep up with his studies so he didn’t fall too far behind Xander. Most days, Leo would swing his feet out of bed and onto the floor with little hesitation.

But some days, it was a lot more difficult. Elise had her retainers and she had Camilla and Xander and even those two’s retainers, plus more. Leo was already lagging behind, but who cared? He didn’t want to sleep, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t tired. He was tired a lot, actually. Of what, he could only begin to list before becoming unwilling to continue. Camilla would sometimes knock on the door, and practically drag him out of bed. He always shooed her out before she managed to start dressing him, though.

It was not obvious from the start that his brother would take up the art of the sword. At first, he was just as clumsy and awkward with it as Leo was, but soon pulled head by leaps and bounds. Neither had the skill at first, but Xander had the tenacity.

Camilla took up the axe and wyvern, also cementing her role and uniqueness of choice. She fit the role well, and her affectionate and motherly attitude often succeeded in making Leo’s dreary moods just a bit better.

Elise was a healer. Her skill with the trade combined with her happy-go-lucky attitude always seemed to brighten up everything and everyone around her.

Leo tried to wield a sword at first, but didn’t last very long. It was obvious his brother was becoming far more proficient far more quickly, and hence held their father’s favor in that area. He had no idea how to use an axe, and the idea of healing simply didn’t strike him as something he’d enjoy. He had zero idea how to use a bow, on top of everything else. So he took up tome magic. It was an opportunity, an empty spot next to his siblings, just waiting for him to fill. The thought was actually encouraging.

Now, if only he could accomplish it.

At first, it was only Xander’s shadow that Leo stood in. That, he was fine with. His older brother was a role model, a person to admire. His leadership qualities were evident. Leo was fine with walking in his shadow, since his brother was clearly better suited for the role of a leader.

He’d never forget the first time he’d held Brynhildr. He was almost fourteen, and the book was kind of heavy for him. He opened it, and saw a language he only barely recognized due to his extensive history studies - a hobby he’d found he enjoyed, however boring others viewed it as. No one was in the library with him. He sat down and started trying to translate bits and pieces of it. One of the maids that came in to clean gave him a funny look before hurrying off without finishing.

Later that day, he was called down to the throne room. As he entered, he noticed his father holding the same book he’d been reading earlier. The maid from before stood by the door. As Leo entered, his father dismissed her and she scurried out.

His father held out the book. “Do you know what this is?”

Leo shook his head. “No, I do not. Forgive me if I shouldn’t have taken it. I wanted something new to read, Father.”

“Open it again.” His father commanded him, holding out the book.

Leo took it, confused. He hesitated before opening the book normally, wondering if there was some special way he was supposed to complete the simple task.

“Like this?”

He was so confused when his father nodded and began speaking. It wasn’t just a fancy old book in a fancy old language. It’s name was Brynhildr, and it was supposedly the strongest magical tome in existence. A person the tome allowed to open it was extremely rare. It had gone untouched for generations. And was now his to keep and use.

Leo felt his chest swell with pride at the news. Upon being dismissed, he left the throne room with the tome - his tome - clutched to his chest and his head held high.

In his childlike happiness, he went straight to Camilla with the news, who took ample time to absolutely smother him in affection and praise. His older brother, just as congratulating, even promised him a sparring match when Leo’d mastered this craft. Elise seemed even more boisterous than usual for the next few days, showering Leo in congratulatory hugs whenever she saw him.

He found himself getting out of bed more easily. He found a place among his siblings he could work towards. For a long time, it felt like he could keep up, like the shadow of his brother that Leo always seemed to hide in got smaller.

And then people began joining Xander in front of Leo, one by one. Camilla, with her axe and wyvern and tenderness, secured a spot next to the oldest prince, and the shadow cast over Leo grew. Elise, unknowingly skipping her way past him, added her own shadow to the midst.

Corrin, with all their naïve yet heartfelt determination, was his only equal, as selfish as that felt to think. For the longest time, they were a reject too. But then they made their decision-

“I can’t pick a side. I refuse!”

-and walked right past him.

Only this time, their shadow didn’t blend with those of his siblings. Corrin stayed on their own, off to the side, yet still managed to cast their shadow over him too. But he loved Corrin like they really were one of his biological siblings. He never had to worry around them, ever. They were a safe zone for Leo, no matter how adamantly he refused to admit it.

When he met Niles, he saw an opportunity for both himself and the boy. In a way, they both earned something better through their meeting and the events that followed. Leo hired the archer, but didn’t speak of the pride that swelled in his chest at having done something of his own, something outside of his father’s jurisdiction.

(Garon’s shadow was the only one that loomed over each and every single one of them.)

His father’s condition continued to worsen. He turned into a monster, unrecognizable except in appearance. Day in and day out, he heard the same things over and over from the man. He wasn’t good enough. A failure, a mistake, a setback. At first, he cared what the man said. This was his father, after all. But then he began to wonder if the man was losing his mind. Who even was the deity he believed resided in that ceiling statue? There certainly weren’t any books on this Anankos.

The words his father spewed began to mean less and less, but Leo could feel them more and more. What impact did he make? What good was he?

His father assigned him a second retainer. At first, Leo absolutely hated Odin. He didn’t need a lackey his father hired. Niles was enough. He came up with the most ridiculous quests he could find, the most absurd of tasks. Each time, Odin returned with bruises, a grin, and an ostentatious cry of: “My tome hand twitches!”

It was infuriating, until it wasn’t.

Leo eventually realized that Odin was scared plenty during his life too. Perhaps it was with words unspoken that each was able to recognize the remains of trauma in the other. From what, they could both only guess. Eventually, Leo was comforted with the fact that he had found someone even a little bit like him, even if neither of them ever talked about it.

Leo didn’t want to talk about it. He had seen Odin without a shirt, once. The surplus of scars crossing his back and arms had told stories in and of themselves. Leo was all too familiar with the feeling of having scars.

He didn’t need to guess how he found himself rolling up his sleeves and sitting on the floor with Odin, exchanging stories on the multitude scars the two had received. Even years later, he found that there was always some new scar he hadn’t shown or told Odin about. And he was sure it was the same vice versa.

——

Camilla was being sent out to kill Corrin - his safe zone. It made sense, Corrin did betray them. But did they? Leo wondered. He knew for a fact that he wouldn’t have the guts to pick between his siblings like that. If Corrin hadn’t viewed the Hoshidan royals as their family, they would’ve chosen to side with Nohr. But they chose neither, which meant they had made a choice that anyone in their situation would have made - refusing to pick between siblings.

The realization of that fact hit Leo like a ton of bricks. He unsteadily scrambled to his feet, unsure of what he was doing, or even where he was going. His feet stopped running when he reached the throne room. Ah, so he was going to convince father not to send Camilla to kill Corrin? Fat chance, but he still found himself entering the room. His grip on Brynhildr tightened.

However, upon coming face-to-face with Garon, Leo realized that he had no dialogue prepared. He stuttered over his words, and eventually got out: “There’s no need to send Camilla to kill Corrin.”

“And why is that?”

Leo feel like his airways were tightening. “Because I-“ he coughed twice, trying to clear his airways.

He cursed his nervous stuttering. “I would... I mean, I can...” explain why Corrin did it.

“Volunteering to take the job?”

No!

He nodded stiffly.

Why did you do that?!

Please say no. Please say no. Please say no.

“Very well, let’s see if you come back or not.”

——

That night, he had the first anxiety attack he’d had in ages, sobbing on the floor of his room. He was surprised no one heard him, considering that his entire body was shaking, he felt like he was choking on his own tears, and his airways seemingly refused to work right. He curled up with his knees to his chest and waited it out.

There was no way he could go through with this. Corrin was one of his few salvations in a world that turned its back on him. Sure, he had his retainers, but had known Corrin the longest.

The next morning, he didn’t say goodbye. He let their father explain to Camilla why her job was taken from her. He left before the morning hustle and bustle in the halls had even started.

It was either he died at the hands of Corrin, or came back a failure and died at the hands of Garon.

Niles and Odin had figured him out long ago. They knew when he was about to have an anxiety attack, and knew when to make up an excuse to get him out of that situation and to a more secluded place. Even if it was just a situation that could possibly trigger one, they would get him out of it. They would take the blame in some situations when Leo couldn’t find the effort to go through with something. He would admit that they made him feel a lot better just by being there, and they knew that.

Odin, with all his drama and flair, was a brave and determined soul. Niles, despite his snark and unique humor, was among the most loyal people Leo had ever known. Neither knew Corrin very well, but they knew their liege looked to Corrin as a kind of hope - or, used to.

And whenever anything happened to Leo, they respected him enough - as his friends - to never ask why. As the battle against the rebellion began, Leo’s mind shifted to a new ideal. The two of them were always equals up until now, but now Corrin had abandoned him. Left him behind in the dirt. Did they not care?!

Leo got angry. He found himself losing his temper as he fought.

Right away, Odin noticed how increasingly reckless his liege had become, and began to fight his way through towards the prince, only to be stopped in his tracks by the second prince of Hoshido, another arrow already notched in the aglow bowstring of the Fujin Yumi.

Leo dodged another one of Corrin’s swipes, and countered, fueled by rage and muscle memory. He ignored Niles’s shouts to control himself, and attacked blindly.

Leo lost himself to his temper, and perhaps that was the reason he lay defeated. 

“I’ve lost, what are you waiting for?” He asked Corrin. “My life is in your hands, surely that much is evident to you. Finish what you’ve started.”

To his surprise, Corrin instead extended a hand towards him. “If that’s the case, then you’ll be joining us now!”

A cheery smile was thrown in his direction. Corrin, who walked past him, was the only one who proceeded to turn back around to face him, letting beams of light begin to obstruct the shadow he stood in.

Leo felt ten tons lighter. He took Corrin’s hand, feeling better than he had in a long time.

That same night, he had yet another anxiety attack. He had left his siblings behind, betrayed his kingdom. Elise would be so worried, Camilla would regret not taking the job herself, and Xander would put himself under even more pressure to gain their father’s attention and distract the man from Leo’s betrayal.

If anyone from the place he called home caught him, he’d be killed.

He didn’t sleep at all that night.

——

Elise could guess why Leo didn’t come back. She knew he was fed up and tired, but the extent of it was beyond her reasoning. She couldn’t make heads or tails of it. Garon was more angry than he had been in a long time. Elise watched her oldest brother walk into the throne room, only to exit ten minutes later with a scowl and a cheekbone that would soon bruise.

“Leo has betrayed us,” the crown prince relayed, “and joined Corrin’s army.”

Elise didn’t even cry. Instead, that was all the motivation she needed.

——

Takumi had been in the rebellion for a few months already. When Leo joined, it was clear they wouldn’t get along. They bickered over everything. People even started calling them, “the twins.”

“Why do you call us that?” He’d questioned Corrin one day.

“Because you two fight like you’ve lived under the same roof your entire lives.” They shook their head wistfully.

Somehow, that only served to annoy him more. He was tired of being compared to the most insufferable member of the army.

And Takumi felt exactly the same. One day, when the archer was more tired and angry than he’d ever been, he’d snapped at Leo. Something childish, along the lines of: ”my family might just care enough that I was gone to listen to reason.” He was talking about Sakura. The argument ended there as Takumi whirled around and stalked off.

Later, Leo struggled to control his breathing and his shoulders heaved with the effort. Why had that been so hard? He could handle an insult. It didn’t mean anything. But he still curled up and cried.

Takumi honestly felt a little bad. Maybe it was because he would probably have had some kind of relapse if someone insulted him like that. He cursed what he viewed as emotional fragility. But if he apologized, he’d never hear the end of it from the other prince.

He decided against it.

——

The three-way battle in Cyrkensia raged. It was Corrin’s army Vs. Hoshido Vs. Nohr, and Leo found that it was almost too easy to freeze up when his eyes met his brother’s. Leo ducked the other way before Xander could give chase, Niles and Odin with him, only to be faced with Camilla, who cooed at him in her usual tone, advancing forwards. Leo backed up, and then remembered that his brother was behind him.

He’d be dragged back home. He felt his airways closing up. Garon would kill him.

Camilla just looked at him before tearfully directing her wyvern, Marzia, off to the side and bringing her axe down on a Hoshidan soldier fighting elsewhere.

Leo turned around, and was met with his older brother’s piercing glare. He was angry.

Leo took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. In a sudden burst of confidence, he lifted his chin, opened Brynhildr, and glared right back.

For a second, the two of them stood on almost equal ground. Leo’s breath nearly left him.

It felt absolutely incredible. He felt his heart swell with elation, despite the butterflies in his stomach and sour look on his face.

The crown prince turned his back to Leo as if nothing happened. For a moment, Leo was dazed. Until a soldier leapt at him from behind, and he was forced to scramble to his senses, the moment gone.

——

Takumi surveyed the battlefield. For a brief moment, he wondered where Leo had gone. Then, he mentally smacked himself for it. Why did he have to care where that damn jerk was?! Let him die, Takumi didn’t care.

When the archer spotted the prince, the blonde was stuck between his older siblings. His eyes were wide, and he looked like he couldn’t breathe. Takumi knee what this looked like, because he’d felt it before. Without thinking, he notched an arrow, aiming straight for the head of purple hair.

But then she turned away. Leo turned around, and Takumi saw him square his shoulders, lift his chin, and glare firmly at his older brother. Takumi’s arrow instead soared into a soldier that attacked Leo after his brother and sister had vanished into the fray. All signs of an approaching panic attack faded, and the battle continued.

——

Elise seemingly vanished after the battle. Leo couldn’t see her anywhere in the Nohrian troops. Until a tap on his shoulder startled him.

“Elise?!”

“Hi, Leo!” She cheered. “I’m sorry I didn’t get the chance to come join you earlier!”

“Join me?” He echoed cluelessly.

“Yup! I’m here to join Corrin’s army!” She said. “And I brought Effie and Arthur!” Her retainers bowed in turn.

“Elise, it’s too dangerous-“ he tried to convince her otherwise, but she cut him off.

“I’m an adult too, aren’t I?! Where’s Corrin?”

“Right here.” A familiar head of dull sandy hair stepped forwards. “How’d you get away from Xander and Camilla?”

“Simple. I didn’t tell them!” Leo sighed. He guessed that was that. He was too tired to care at the moment anyway. They still had to head for Port Dia.

——

Leo struggled to control his breathing again. Camilla was crying. He’d never seen her cry. If she was falling apart without him, then losing Elise to the rebellion as well must’ve been incredibly hard on her. Knowing that three people you considered siblings had betrayed you was difficult, without a doubt.

Leo hated the feeling of betrayal. He lost his temper at Corrin, yet Camilla had only cried for him. How childish could he be?!

And his brother was angry at him. As the crown prince, he had to stay on Garon’s good side. That normally went unsaid. Leo couldn’t let himself be caught.

Gods, he was afraid of being caught by his own brother.

His throat tightened to the point where he was sure he would suffocate. He couldn’t even stay on his feet, sinking down to the ground. His eyes were closed as he hyperventilated, and he barely registered two pairs of footsteps approaching at a fast pace. Someone pulled him to sit upright, their hands on his shoulders. They were both talking, trying to calm him down.

“This won’t last forever, Leo. You can breathe, I promise. There’s nothing suffocating you.” A male voice said.

His vision cleared and the first person he saw was Elise. “Elise...” he felt like there was a frog in his throat, “what are you doing..?”

“I’m helping, obviously! You never mentioned having panic attacks!” She said quietly.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized. It was the best he could do. “I’m really tired. It happens a lot. There’s always been a lot I can’t do.” He blurted out, his instincts screaming at him to get help for himself.

“I know how that feels.” The second figure turned out to be Takumi, awkwardly crouched down to his level. Leo rolled his eyes.

“Come on, you need to sleep,” the other prince pulled him to his feet. “When you wake up, don’t feel like you have to get out of bed right  away.” Takumi and Elise pulled the mage away.

——

Figuring out that Takumi also suffered from panic attacks (albeit slightly less frequently) and inferiority issues was a breath of fresh air for Leo. He had someone to relate to, and that helped more than he could know. As the rebellion progressed, they found themselves sharing stories, books, and even other little unimportant things. Leo openly admitted that after months in this rebellion and years of isolation, he had made a friend of his own accord. It was a start.

He found that Takumi also stood in his siblings’ shadows. After the deaths of his parents (first Ikona, then Sumeragi, then Mikoto), he honestly felt like he failed each of them in some way. And then, according to him, he continued to fail people. In joining Corrin, he felt he’d failed his entire kingdom. But wasn’t joining Corrin the right thing to do?

He just couldn’t tell.

But he knew who he could ask. For a moment, he debated the option. But then he sat up, pulled his shoes on, and left to find the aforementioned archer.

When he found Takumi, it was in a hidden alcove of Corrin’s dimension.

“Prince Takumi,” he greeted.

The archer lazily glared but otherwise said nothing, evidently preferring not to move from his spot against a tree. Leo sat down next to him.

“It appears we do have something in common after all.”

Takumi wrinkled his nose. “Yeah, if you call anxiety attacks and inferiority issues relatable.”

“I do, but perhaps it’s not the only thing.” Takumi huffed. “I don’t intend to be your friend just because we both have anxiety and people call us twins.”

“Then perhaps we’re more different than we thought. Only one way to find out,” he reasoned. “So, what’s your favorite food?”

After a moment, Takumi sighed. “Miso soup, you?”

——

They arrived in Port Dia, easily defeating the Nohrian soldiers along the way. Thankfully, none got a chance to speak to Leo. He didn’t want to hear what he surely would have been told. That the king wanted his head.

He helped to pass the trial, and watched the Rainbow Sage fade away of old age, as Corrin’s Yato blade transformed. They needed all five legendary weapons to make the fire emblem. They had three already, which was a very good start.

The skies were about to change color. Corrin’s group arrived at the bottomless canyon, met with Hinoka and Ryoma, who weren’t there to attack them, but to join their cause. Leo felt himself breathe a sigh of relief.

Before Nohrian soldiers stormed the area they had stopped in.

“I guess we have their answer.” Takumi growled, notching an arrow. “Leo, be sure to pay attention.”

“I am,” Leo snapped back, opening Brynhildr as the battle between their forces and Nohr’s began.

Leo really didn’t want to think right now. He knew it was vital, but for once, he wanted to turn his brain off and fight. But they were outnumbered. They thinned the forces down, but still couldn’t get near Hans or Iago.

But they could hear them talking. Traitors, they said. King Garon wants them dead, and the crown prince would be the one to do it.

Leo tasted bile in his throat. No way. What about Camilla? What happened to her? Did anything happen to her at all?

Then his vision zoned in. Iago’s ice tome was open, and he was aiming right at Elise. Leo scrambled in her direction. Effie and Arthur were already on it. Iago fired two ice spells in rapid succession.

Leo felt cold, freezing even. His legs felt like they were made of butterflies, and he could feel dirt on his face after a moment or two, before shouting echoed in his ears. He was so cold. He just wanted to sleep, so why did people have to shout? It was annoying. How long had he been this tired? He couldn’t remember, but he really wanted to sleep. He shut his eyes and tried to. Was there something else he was supposed to be doing?

His senses annoyingly washed back with the glow of healing magic. All at once, his back throbbed, he had a pounding headache, and people wouldn’t stop talking. “Shut up,” he groaned, “I have a headache...”

“Leo!” Pink, black, and yellow trapped him in a hug.

“...Elise...? Are you okay?” Why was he asking, anyway? She was fine, obviously.

“Don’t do that again!” Another voice scolded. Turning his head, he saw purple hair. Camilla. “That was far too dangerous!”

“Doesn’t matter... ‘m not as important as ‘Lise, or useful ‘s Camilla...” he mumbled, still not paying attention, his head feeling like it was stuffed full of cotton. “ ‘n not as strong as Xander... ‘m tired, too... can I sleep yet?” He wasn’t really paying attention to what he was saying.

“No, no you may not!” His little sister said indignantly.

“...Fine.” He laid still and let her work. His headache returned full force as his head cleared. “Ugh, I have a headache.” He groaned. “Elise, are you alright? Is the battle over?”

“...Yes and yes...We need to have a talk later. All four of us.”

“Four?” Oh. He hadn’t noticed Camilla standing there. Or Xander, for that matter. 

——

“Hey, uh...” Elise approached her oldest two siblings again after the battle. “You two made it...!” She winced.

“Elise.” Xander scolded. “You ran off.”

“And you didn’t come along,” she pouted, “or consider that Corrin’s logic might make sense.” She knew he was worried for her and Leo.

“We couldn’t just leave as you did, Elise.” Her sister chastised. “You’re the youngest.”

“I know...” she sighed. “More people were watching you two.”

Camilla nodded. “How’s Leo?”

“...Better.” 

Camilla raised an eyebrow. “And emotionally?”

“I have no idea.” Elise admitted. “Did either of you know about... that?”

Neither did. “We definitely need to ask him.” Xander said firmly. “Or it’ll become worse.”

“I think... it already is pretty bad...” Elise admitted. “He had a bad panic attack almost two weeks ago. He said it happens a lot. He said he gets tired often, and that there have always been a lot of things he couldn’t do. I didn’t know what to say. I mean, I told him otherwise, but...”

“I’ll show you otherwise!” Camilla whirled around and went off through the army in search of Leo. Her other two siblings hurried after her.

——

Leo saw his siblings walking towards him, and ducked into the army, hiding among the rebels, uttering apologies to anyone he bumped. He found himself hiding behind Takumi, Oboro, and Hinata.

“What?” Takumi questioned. Leo only shushed him. The three of them sat atop a pile of large rocks as the group waited for the skies to change color. It would be within thirty minutes, Azura was sure. If Leo ducked behind Takumi, the rocks and other two people hid him just fine.

Camilla walked right by.

——

Leo swallowed his fear, looking down the canyon. The mage shut his eyes, clutching his tome to his chest. His retainers jumped at the same time he did. He didn’t miss the stares his siblings shot him.

As the whole group made their way through Valla, he noticed that his siblings stuck a little closer to him than normal.

Leo managed to keep calm until Anankos summoned Garon. Leo had guessed the man was a puppet of some kind, but never of this magnitude. Everything he’d done to avoid the cruelty he’d grown up under had come back to bite him. It was Anankos the whole time. Anankos, who they now had to fight. Their tormentor was right in front of them once again. Leo bit his lip, tasting iron. He didn’t need to know that.

A warm hand settled onto his shoulder, and just as the mage looked up at his brother with wide eyes, the five legendary weapons the group now possessed began to glow. Leo straightened his back and squared his shoulders. This was it.

——

Takumi didn’t remember a lot of the battle, but did know that it was rough at first. Things didn’t look good, until he got lucky. An arrow of his soared right through the air, and Anankos had lost half his vision from it, forced to close the injured eye. In the dragon’s distraction, nearly the entire army had charged, Corrin at the head. They made decent headway, until Anankos lifted up one giant clawed foot and swiped at Corrin, knocking them back and almost off their feet.

Anankos then tried to crush the leader of the army, only for everyone else to turn all their attacks on that one foot and force the dragon back. The rest of the battle was a blur up until one specific moment, right before the dragon died. It wasn’t incredibly special or glamorous, but he remembered standing back-to-back with the same annoying mage people had jokingly called his twin, fending off Vallite soldiers.

——

“Leo!” Elise opened his door two days after the battle, in her pajamas. They were back in castle Krakenburg. Everyone had finished their duties for the day, and Leo was actually going off to bed. “Hey, hey, hey! Are you busy?”

“Not really, why?”

“Great, now come on!” She linked her arm with his and dragged him through the halls and to her room.

“Elise, if this is a tea party-“

“It’s not! I’d still make you join us even if it was, but it’s not!”

“Alright.” Leo sighed.

He was surprised when Elise stopped in front of Xander’s room.

Elise pulled open the door and walked in. Leo followed her, noticing that Xander and Camilla were waiting, sitting on the bed. Elise took a seat too, and patted the spot in the middle.

“C’mon Leo, center stage!” She grinned.

He complied. Camilla was sat on the far end, so the open spot was between Elise and Xander.

As soon as the door shut and he sat down, Camilla started talking. “When we were fighting those soldiers right before we jumped into the canyon, you said something that unnerved us a bit, Leo.” She said.

“I did?” He could feel his heart in his throat. “What did I say?”

His older brother cleared his throat. “You said-“

“You said weren’t important!” Elise burst out. “You said you weren’t useful, and that you weren’t strong!”

Leo tried to play it off. “I did? Well, in the moment, I might not have been.”

“Don’t lie, Leo.” Xander wasn’t wearing any armor, or even his crown. “Please.”

“Why would I lie about this?” He questioned, sounding far more innocent than he should have. “It was just one time. I’ll do better, and you won’t hear it from me again.”

“First off, it wasn’t one time. Elise told us you had a panic attack earlier that week, and that you’ve been having them for a while.” Camilla spoke. “Second off, we want to hear it from you. It’s not good to keep these things bottled up, Leo.”

He didn’t reply. He wished he had Brynhildr, but not to use. Just to hold, to have that feeling of safety.

Elise hugged him tight. Leo felt his façade drop, and so did his siblings.

Leo sighed. “Elise, look at me. It shouldn’t have to be your problem.” He reasoned.

“Well, I’m making it my problem!”

“And so are we.” Camilla, who sat on the far end, pulled all three of her siblings into a bear hug with Leo practically smushed into the middle.

He dropped his head onto Camilla’s shoulder. “I... I don’t know what to say about...”

“Say it as you view it,” his brother supplied. “We’ll listen.”

“You’re sure?”

“Positive.”

Leo bit his lip before taking a deep breath. He talked slowly at first, starting with how he got left behind the three of them early on. Garon’s abuse, the day he got Brynhildr, and then Corrin leaving him behind. Failing to convince Garon to not kill Corrin, joining the rebellion.

He couldn’t believe himself. He was talking fast, crying, looking at the ground.

How after the battle in Cyrkensia, he was afraid of being caught by his own siblings. The fear of his own family was something he was sure he’d never forget, but always want to. Amidst remembering the pressure, having to hide away, losing the people he called family, he felt his throat start to close.

Voices faded, and his knees felt like jelly. His breathing got faster. The voices around him were nearly muted, and definitely not understandable. He wove his hands into his hair and tugged, trying to ground himself. It wasn’t working. He pulled harder, but only wished he could feel the pain that normally brought his mind back down to earth. His hands were pulled away from his hair, and arms wrapped around his middle. Someone had their hands on his shoulders.

“Leo! Leo, breathe!”

That was Elise. He looked down, and tried. She really looked worried. He took a deep breath, or tried. He choked the first time, turning his head into his shoulder as he coughed. His siblings were patient.

When Leo had managed to finally take deep breaths and opened his eyes, he was almost surprised to see that the one who’d pulled his hands from his hair and held them in their own while he calmed down was Xander. Leo tightened his grip gratefully.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

“Of course,” came the reply.

Leo took a deep breath, sat up straight, and kept talking. How he had found solace in Takumi having similar problems, even though that wasn’t fair to either of them. The sheer inferiority he felt in comparison to everyone else.

As he talked, Xander didn’t let go of his hands. Elise didn’t let him out of the hug, and Camilla’s hands never left his shoulders or back, rubbing in a motherly fashion. When he was done, he didn’t feel as hollow as he thought he might.

“Are you doing better now?” Elise asked. “After talking about it all?”

Leo took a deep breath. “Yeah.” He smiled. “A lot better.”

He let himself fall backwards onto the bed. “That was tiring.” Then he realized. “I mean, tiring to talk about, I really appreciate that you three listened-“

“Leo,” Camilla laid down as well. “Don’t start,” she gently reminded. “We chose to listen because we wanted to.”

“Right, I’ll have to work on that. Um, point it out if I do it again?”

“Of course.”

Elise then flopped down too, reaching across Leo and pulling Xander down with her.

Now all four of them laid down on the bed, sideways. The pillows to one side and the footboard to the other. The silence wasn’t awkward, and Leo was tired.

——

He woke up and looked at the clock hanging on the wall. It was almost dawn. He looked around. All four of them had fallen asleep just as they were hours ago.

Elise had scooted closer in the night, and Camilla had probably been the one to find and pull the big blanket over them. Even Xander had rolled onto his side so he was facing Leo, his hair all mussed up.

Leo scooted closer. He could stand to sleep for a few more minutes, he thought. He didn’t have any nightmares last night anyway.

His brother stirred. “Leo?”

“Morning. Sorry, looks like we all fell asleep here. It’s almost dawn.”

“I see.” His brother mused. “Oh, that’s right. You mentioned something while recounting the day you received Brynhildr.”

“Did I?” Leo yawned.

“Let’s spar later,” his brother murmured tiredly.

Leo took a moment before remembering what he had told his brother the day before. “Okay.” He smiled.

**Author's Note:**

> How many of you read all the way through I’m genuinely interested


End file.
